The present application relates to ornamental wheel covers, in particular to wheel cover assemblies that are suitable for affixing to vehicles such as heavy trucks, or rigs, and the like.
The motor vehicular transport industry today is a vibrant part of the economy, and many large transport trucks and rigs are privately owned. Indeed, many a large rig is the effective home of its private owner, providing onboard computers, communication systems, televised entertainment, and sleeping quarters. Ornamentation of the exterior has become an important aspect of personal ownership. Accordingly, the fitting of ornamental wheel covers over the wheels of large rigs and trucks has become widespread in recent years.
Unfortunately, the devices and methods used to attach ornamental cover assemblies over the wheels of large vehicles suffer from various shortcomings. Commonly, some devices for attaching ornamental covers over wheels have relied upon outwardly extending threaded lugs which are typically provided on the axle for attaching the wheel to the hub. Although this method uses structure present on the vehicle which is clearly intended for affixation of structure (such as a wheel), the method has the disadvantage of making the integrity of the wheel attachment structure dependent upon the viability of a foreign structure that was not part of the vehicle manufacturer's original wheel attachment design. The addition of foreign structure to the original wheel attachment assembly may lead to shortcomings, and indeed, may lead to denial of insurance coverage where the shortcomings are attributable to structure foreign to the original vehicle design. Additional problems may arise should the vehicle be subject to inspection by local, state, or federal authorities. Some inspectors may require that ornamental wheel covers be removed to present a clear view of the wheel attachment system. Removal of the covers may require the vehicle to be jacked up, on a wheel by wheel basis, to take the load off each wheel while the covers are being removed, causing considerable inconvenience.
One method for attaching wheel covers over wheels that has been used to avoid relying on structure dedicated to wheel attachment is to launch a cover attachment assembly from a hub's oil or grease hub cap attachment structure, rather than the wheel attachment structure. One such device that has been developed provides a number of threaded rods, each rod having a stop nut toward each end. A first stop nut is set at a desired position along the length of the rod, allowing the rod to be inserted, at one end, to a desired depth into a threaded hole in the hub that would otherwise receive one of the half dozen or so bolts for holding down a hub cap. (Three such threaded rods might be provided in triangulated formation, displacing three of the regular hub cap hold-down bolts.) At the other end of each rod, a second stop nut may be adjusted to permit an ornamental wheel cover to be set to the correct orientation in relation to the wheel. In this way, any loading applied to the ornamental wheel cover is transmitted via the rods back to the grease hub, and the wheel attachment structure is left unaffected by any impact or load upon the ornamental wheel cover.
However, a shortcoming in the foregoing structure is that it is flimsy, in that an impact on the ornamental wheel cover may permanently bend or buckle the rods out of original alignment, leaving the wheel cover in a disfigured spatial relationship to the wheel, defeating the purpose of the ornamentation.
Another shortcoming found in the prior art relates to the bolts or studs used to affix the wheel cover over the wheel. Typically, an ornamental wheel cover sized to fit a large truck, and configured to survive the kind of occasional impact load that can be expected in this context, may be made of cast aluminum, and may weigh about 15 to 30 pounds. It has been found that a wheel cover having such a large weight may suffer from inadequate torsional and shear attachment to the wheel hub where insufficient attachment means are provided. Where a single central stud is provided for attachment, the rotational momentum of a heavy wheel cover may cause the cover to incline to rotate independently when the vehicle is brought to a sudden stop, because the wheel cover does not have its own braking system and may not be connected over the wheel other than at a central stud. Added to the problem of rotational momentum may be the problem of shear, which may be additionally incurred when the cover is impacted by collision with a curb, bollard or the like.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved structure and method of affixing ornamental wheel covers over wheels of vehicles such as trucks. The present invention addresses these and other needs.